Saturday, August 27, 2011

Glen Delbert Tolman (1915-1976)

Glen Delbert Tolman
 Glen Delbert Tolman

DOB:  4 Jan 1915 Eugene, Lane, Oregon, USA
DOD:
27 Mar 1976  Caldwell, Canyon, Idaho, USA*
Buried: Mar or Apr 1976 in Eugene, Lane, Oregon, United States
   *[Glen was traveling for work (he delivered mobile homes) when he  
    died (probably a heart attack) in his motel room. His body was sent back  
    to  Eugene, Oregon for burial]

 Glen about age 3

     Glen Delbert Tolman was the full-brother of Ethel Florence Tolman. They were the only children of Bella Eugenia Nestegard. Glen was only 8 months old when his mother Bella died of T.B.

     When their mother died, Ethel (2 1/2) and Glen 8 months, went to live with their Aunt Jessie and Uncle Art. Arthur Tolman was the brother of their father, George Earl Tolman.

     
   Cousin Crissie, Aunt Jessie
Ethel & Glen Tolman 

     In 1918 when his father married Pearl May Banta, he was about 3 years old. His step-mother Pearl raised Ethel Florence and Glen Delbert as her own and also gave George two more children, Clifford Earl and Esther May. I will be writing about them in the next few weeks. 
George, Pearl
Ethel & Glen

      In searching for Glen in the US Census records I have found that he is not listed in the 1920 Census. I can not find him with his father, step mother & sister, nor with his Uncle Art, Aunt Jessie and their two children. He should have been 5 years old. His sister Ethel is listed with his father and new step-mother Pearl. But where is little Glen? Did the census enumerator forget to list him or was he somewhere else at that time? Or did Art and Jessie think that he would be listed with his parents so neglect to report that he was living with them? 

     My mother, his niece says that Glen was close to his Aunt (Hattie) Pearl (Tolman) Laycock. She was the sister of his father George. [But I can’t find him with her in any of the Census’ reports either]. This would not bother me so much if he had only shown up in the next Census of 1930, but I can not find him there either.

     Coincidentally, there is another Glenn Tolman born about a year later and born in Idaho who is NOT this Glen Tolman. This second (incorrect) Glen does show up with his parents and later his wife in the 1910, 1920 and 1930 US Census records, but still no record of my Uncle Glen Tolman.

Marriages:

1) Lois Faye Smith

Glen & Lois married 10 Jun 1937 in Eugene, Lane, Oregon. She was from Coburg, Oregon. They were married for many years before divorcing (sometime after March of 1953, as (his niece) Bernice Collingwood & Tom Archibald  were married in their home in Coburg, Lane, Oregon on 8 Mar 1953*). They each later remarried. [Lois married Russ Easley on 13 Nov 1975 in Reno, NV]. Lois and Glen had one child.

2) Mary May Hughes-Davis.

DOB: 24 May 1914 Cornelius, Washington, Oregon, USA
DOD: 20 Mar 2004 Reno, Washoe, Nevada, USA
Buried:  Springfield Memorial Gardens in Springfield, Oregon.
      * (she was survived by a brother Harry Hughes, and two sisters 
     Bubbles Dalebout and Evelyn Lozier).

     Mary had been previously married. She married Glen Tolman on May 16, 1965, in Eugene, Lane, Oregon. He made her a widow in 1976.
 Mary and Glen Tolman

Children
Child of Glen and Lois:

Grace "Darlene" Tolman

DOB: 7 Jun 1937 in Eugene, Lane, Oregon, United States
DOD: 27 Mar 1967 in Eugene, Lane, Oregon, United States
     she died by falling off an out-of-control horse, onto a highway hitting her   
     head.

     She married a man named Ray Bruce and had four children, 3 boys and a girl who were born from 1959 to 1966. I would like to meet these cousins and learn more about them.

     I find it interesting that I have cousins who are my grandma’s sibling’s grandchildren (my second cousins) who I don’t even know and other second cousins who I knew growing up and still know; keeping in touch via facebook and other online media and occasional face to face visits. Some I have memories of and others, like the Bruce kids, I have never even met.
Glen, Ethel, Esther, Clifford Tolman

    It seems that Family is more than just shared blood lines…it is often experiences and interactions that have created memories and affection. It makes me kind of sad that I never knew these cousins, but I did know their grandpa Glen Tolman, albeit from the point of view of a young child [who of course didn’t really interact much with the adults, but watched them from afar and listened from my “comfort zone of adults” (grandma, mom, dad) as they interacted.]

Step-children (children of Mary Davis-Tolman)
Gary Davis
Gregg Davis
Larry Davis

Census Record searches done:
 1910 US Census
     …shows George Tollman (Tolman) Age 25 as Head of Household. His father’s name is Albert Tollman (Tolman) (Father's Birth Place: Illinois Mother's Birth Place: Canada English). So this is our George, father of Glen. Their home in 1910 was in Sumner, Pierce, Washington. Household Members are listed as George age 25, Albert age 59, Nettie age 19 and Linnie age 15.
     George got married the next year, 1911 to Bella. Glen was born 5 years  after this Census.

1920 US Census
…shows George age 35 living in Springfield, Lane, Oregon and married to Pearl M. [Banta] Tolman age 23 and his daughter Ethel F. Tolman age 6. There is no mention of Glen here, although he was 5 years old. Ethel was about 1 ½ years older than Glen.

1920 US Census
    …shows Arthur & Jessie Tolman living in Santa Clara, Lane, Oregon (this is an area near Eugene); Art is age 37, Jessie is age 36 and Crissie (their daughter) is age 15. Again there is no mention of Glen, who had lived with them from the time of his mother’s death until sometime after his father George remarried in 1918 to Pearl. Where could Glen have been?

1930 US Census
     …records can not be found for this Glen Tolman, who would have been about 15 years old. If you have any ideas of where he might be, please let me know.

     It is not often in my experience, that someone never shows up on a US Census. It is possible that Glen will show up in later Census records when they are released. Whomever picks up the gauntlet and carries on my research will want to investigate further to see if Glen does appear in a Census record in 1940, 50, 60, or 70.

     I must admit that it bothers me to not have much in the way of paperwork to document his life. But I can assure you that there are many who knew him, and some who are still alive (my mother, me, my aunts and uncles, many of my older cousins) that will attest that he did live, and he did have family that knew and loved him. He also has grandchildren that should be in their 40’s or 50’s in this year of 2011. I hope that somehow they will come across this article and contact me with the information that they have and their memories of their grandfather, Glen Delbert Tolman.
 Occupation

     In his young adulthood, Glen worked as a dairyman. Yes, he milked cows for a dairy in the Coburg/Mohawk area near Springfield/Eugene, Oregon. Later in life he worked driving truck. He was employed as a truck driver towing large mobile homes, delivering them to various places in Oregon and surrounding states. It was on one of these deliveries that he fell asleep in a motel and did not awaken. I’m do not know for sure, but I believe that he died of a heart attack.

     Interestingly enough, his brother Clifford Tolman and one of his nephews, Rick Montgomery also were in the dairy business. Rick even owned his own dairy at one time. Both of them also stayed in the Eugene, Oregon area.

     As short as this week’s article may be, it took a lot of research to obtain the little that I found. Sometimes, the information comes easily, sometimes, like this last two weeks, it is like finding gold in a coal mine, Impossible. Glen Tolman has been on my mind almost constantly while I endeavored to find a paper trail of his life. Unfortunately, he is one who appears to have slipped through the cracks. I did finally find his name in his 2nd wife, Mary Tolman’s obituary. Most everything else is word of mouth, and family paperwork, and is accepted on faith.

     If you should find an official birth record, or social security number, or death certificate, or any other paperwork (employment stubs, tax returns, whatever), I would be grateful to have a copy or the original, to put into my genealogy archives. 

     Also, if you should have any memories of him, I would love to hear them!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

What is the big fuss about genealogy. All those old guys are dead…so what do we care?

You may have visited this blog or others that give information about your ancestors. Maybe you came out of curiosity, maybe just to kill time, or maybe just because some crazy cousin (me) keeps sending links to you via email, or Facebook.

Since many of us in our family have direct ancestors who [because of their involvement in the Revolutionary War] qualify us to join one these  two societies, I thought maybe you would be interested to read about some of the beginnings of genealogy research here in the United States. Therefore, I am sharing this article that I found online.

Everyday Genealogy - by Bob Brooke

Establishing family links to the past as pre-requisites for membership in the patriotic societies of Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) and Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) has encouraged people to get involved in genealogical research. 

The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) and its female counterpart, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) are the two premier fraternal and genealogical organizations in the United States. Both require their members to do extensive research to join them and neither excludes anyone as long as they have written proof that they're related to an American Patriot.

What brought about such organizations?

Beginning in 1876 with the centennial of the Declaration of Independence, a series of centennial events focused America's attention on its history and heritage and inspired to search for their roots which led to the formation of patriotic and hereditary organizations. Establishing family links to the past as pre-requisites for membership in these patriotic societies encouraged people to get involved in genealogical research.

It became all the rage for those in high society to trace their lineage. Newspapers published genealogical columns. Men and women browsed libraries and collected the names and dates of ancestors from tombstones in cemeteries. Soon, genealogical research trickled down to the upper middle class and became a popular hobby throughout the country.
     

As a result of the nation's centennial in 1876, a group of men who were descendants of Revolutionary War veterans gathered in San Francisco to celebrate. This group, calling themselves the Sons of Revolutionary Sires, became the first organization of descendants of Revolutionary War patriots. Their objective was to have a fraternal organization that saluted those men and women who pledged their lives, fortunes and honor to America's battle for independence, including the descendants of the men who fought in the Continental Army, signed the Declaration of Independence, served in the Continental Congress, or otherwise supported the cause of American Independence from 1774-1783. Today, there are no ties between the Sons of Revolutionary Sires and the Sons of the American Revolution, except that the latter allowed members of the former group to join the SAR after its founding in 1889.

     

The SAR's history isn't without controversy. Before there was an SAR, John Austin Stevens founded another group, the Sons of the Revolution in New York in 1883. He based the charter of his organization on that of the Society of Cincinnati. By 1889, William Osborn McDowell, a New Jersey financier and businessman, organized the New Jersey Society of the Sons of the Revolution but was unwilling to accept the New York organization's requirement that other state societies bow to them, accepting them as the national group. 
     

Stevens founded his group as an elite fraternal association. But McDowell wanted the Sons of the Revolution to be open to all descendants of Revolutionary patriots. So McDowell formed the Sons of the American Revolution at Fraunces Tavern in New York on April 30, 1889, the centennial of the inauguration of George Washington as the First President of the United States of America in 1789.
     

On June 6, 1906, Congress passed an act formally granting McDowell's organization a charter. President Theodore Roosevelt, who was a member of the organization, signed it into law. One of the first things that the SAR did was petition Congress to store Revolutionary era documents in a fire-proof area and make them available to the public. This led to the creation of the National Archives in 1913. The SAR Headquarters, located in Louisville, Kentucky, houses a Revolutionary Museum, their Genealogical Library, and offices.  Today, the SAR's Genealogical Library is in the process of moving to a newly renovated building along Main Street in downtown Louisville, Kentucky.
     

If you think you may have a patriot ancestor, the SAR offers the services of New Member Helpers within state chapters to guide you through your ancestral research. And even if you don't have an ancestor who participated in the struggle for American Independence, you can still search for information on your ancestors.

For information on SAR membership, go to the organization's website at http://www.sar.org


Well cousins, just a little more information for you. I hope that you are finding this information interesting. There is a saying "Genealogy begins as an interest becomes a hobby continues as an avocation, takes over as an obsession and then in it's last stage, is an incurable disease."

Monday, August 15, 2011

Ethel Florence Tolman (Collingwood-Banker-Smith-Archibald)


   
 Ethel Florence Tolman

     This week I will be featuring my grandmother, Ethel Florence Tolman. I have decided to focus on her, then her siblings, then her parents, then grandparents and on back, over the next few weeks. I am researching records to verify the authenticity of my information and I admit that I have been finding some conflicting data about Albert Oscar Tolman, Ethel's grandpa.
   
     I am in contact with a person who is working in the genealogy research center in Salt Lake City, Utah who was married to a Tolman descendant and we each have different information regarding the parent's of Albert. If anyone out there knows or even has a suspicion of the names of his parents please contact me, my email address is cgillice@gmail.com.  

Now on to Ethel.

George, Ethel, Glen and Pearl Tolman


     Ethel is my maternal-grandmother. In addition to my personal memories, I also have the resource of my mother and her memories. In fact, four of Ethel's children (my mom, aunt, and uncles) are still around to verify her information.

     Ethel was the first child born to George Earl Tolman and Bella Eugenia Nestegard. 

I have a certified copy of her Certificate of Birth (registered No. 2722) which states the following:
Place of Birth: Lane county, city of Eugene (7 miles North). 
Her full name is Ethel Florence Tolman.
sex: female.  Legitimate.
Date if birth: June 30, 1913
Father: George E. Tolman, age 28 years, white race, birth place: Minn., occupation: Farmer.
Mother: Bella E. Nestegard, age 24 years, white race, birth place: Minn., occupation: housewife.
The reporting physician is: P.J. Bartle
Issued by: State of Oregon, Multnomah county. The original record is on file with the Division of Vital Statistics, State Board of Health.

I also have  a certificate of death, which states the following:

Decedent's name: Ethel Florence Archibald. sex: female. 
Date of death: 25 Sep, 1998, age 85.
birthplace: Eugene, Oregon
date of birth: June 30, 1913
place of death: Nursing home. Facility name: Gateway Assisted Living
Location of facility: 1630 Cloverleaf Loop, Springfield, Lane, Oregon
Decedent's education level: 4 (4th grade)
Father: George E. Tolman
Mother: Bella - Nestagard
Informant: Josephine Burrelle - daughter
name of cemetery: Springfield Memorial Gardens
7305 Main St.  Springfield, Oregon 97478
Original - Vital Statistics Copy, issued: 29 Sep 1998
Ethel's childhood
     When Ethel was about three years old her mother died. (See article about Bella Eugenia Nestegard Tolman).

 Ethel is on the lower left side, 
little boy on the right is Glen Tolman, 
the woman is Jessie Tolman (married to Arthur Tolman)
the older girl is Jessie and Art's daughter.
     Ethel went to live with her Uncle Art and Aunt Jessie Tolman until her father married Pearl Mae Banta. Pearl was the only mother that Ethel and her brother Glen ever knew. Ethel also had a half sister, Esther and half brother Clifford Tolman. I don't think that she ever thought of her step-mother or step-siblings as anything less than her whole family. 
    
     My mother told me the story of Ethel playing below a window when boiling water was thrown out the window and scalded her. She was still a preschooler when this occurred leaving her bald. The hair grew back and I don't remember ever seeing any burn scars on her head or face.
     
     Ethel also had a bout with polio which left both of her thumbs without movement. Her first husband (my grandpa) helped her work her thumbs until she could use them again. She was very fortunate to only have her thumbs affected by the polio. 
     
     Ethel had a very distinctive laugh, that sounded almost like a...well, the word "cackle" comes to mind. She also spoke with a distinct sound that may have been caused by her dentures, I would call it a "sideways lisp". If you heard it you would understand. [My daughter, JoAnne used to be able to imitate her talking and laughing].
     
     I never appreciated the hard life that my grandma lived. Her education was limited, therefore her reading and writing were limited, and therefore, her job opportunities were limited. And because she was divorced from her first two husbands, she often struggled to provide for and raise her children. I know that sometimes the children lived with other family members.
     
      My mother once told me that grandma's first marriage was forced on her by her parents. They felt that grandpa Collingwood was a great husband for her, and for whatever reason she married him. They were not particularly happy and divorced after having four children. She then married a man who fathered her fifth child. Juanita was born with cerebral palsy and died when she was about 2 years old. My mother, Ethel's oldest child, quit school (in about the 8th grade) to help care for Juanita. 
    
     My grandmother had a grandchild, my cousin Lee, who was also born with cerebral palsy. I think that he was special to grandma because of this similarity to her own baby who died. Lee was a blessing not only to his own parents but to grandma as well. 
      
     Ethel was married four times. First to William (Bill) Aaron Collingwood, then Harvey Eugene Banker, both of whom she divorced. She then married Charles  Arthur"Art" Smith, who is the grandpa that I remember. Finally, a few years after she was widowed, she married Daniel L. Archibald, who just happened to be my paternal grandpa. [Yes, my dad's dad married my mom's mom. Pretty strange, huh? This sort of made my dad and mom, step brother and sister!]

Ethel's marriages

Ethel’s Marriage #1  (Ethel=age 20)
William Aaron Collingwood (1908 – 1970) married in Aug 1931 in Eugene, Lane, Oregon. (Divorced abt. 1943) 

Children from this marriage:
Bill Collingwood with his children
Jo, Ed, Richard and Bernice

1)      Bernice Catherine Collingwood  (19 Nov 1934 –  ) 
     Married Thomas Ernest Archibald
2)      Josephine Elizabeth Collingwood  (29 Aug 1936 –  ) 
     Married Harold Donald Burrelle
3)      Richard Aaron Collingwood (2 Apr 1939 - ) 
     Married 1) Judy Smith, 2) Gertrude Hiner
4)      Edward Earl Collingwood (17 Jan 1942- ) 
     Married 1) Catherine Gesme 2) Shirley Hoffman

Marriage #2 (Ethel, age 35)

     Harvey Eugene Banker, they married in 1948 and Divorced in 1953
     in Lane County, Oregon, USA

Child of this marriage:

Juanita Irene Banker (Juanita was born with cerebral palsy)
DOB: 30 Jan 1949 in Eugene, Lane, Oregon, United States
DOD: 10 Feb 1951 in Eugene, Lane, Oregon, United States
 
Marriage #3 (Ethel, age 40)
Art & Ethel Smith

Charles Arthur "Art" Smith (Abt 1907-1972) on 11 Feb 1954.
     in Yakima, Yakima, Washington, United States.
     Art died in 1972, just before his 65th birthday, in LaPine, Deshcutes, Oregon where they were planning to retire in just a few months. He died of a heart attack. (Cathy Jo Archibald Gillice has a copy of this marriage certificate). 

 Marriage #4 (Ethel, age 62)
Ethel & Dan Archibald
 Daniel Leonidas Archibald (1902-1993) on 12 Dec 1975 in      
Lane County, Oregon. USA. (Dan was Ethel’s eldest daughter, Bernice Archibald’s father-in-law).
(Cathy Jo Archibald Gillice has a copy of this marriage certificate).

     This is the story of Ethel in a nutshell. Many of you remember her, and I would love to hear your stories about her and you. Please share stories with us all, in the comments. I only knew her after 1954. There is so much that I don't know and would love to hear.
    

Friday, July 29, 2011

Richard Lee (1613-1664), Immigrated to the America's in 1640

(1613- 1664)
  Our spotlighted ancestor for the week
 ********************************************************************
 
A quick 'descendancy list' of how we Archibald’s are related to this immigrant to the Americas, who has been the forefather of many famous men who were instrumental in the formation of the United States:

  1. Richard Lee (1613- 1664) married Anne Owen Constable (1615-1706), their son (below)
  2. Capt. Charles C. Lee Sr. (1656-1701) married Elizabeth Medstand (1654-1700), their son (below)
  3. Thomas John Lee (1679-1733) married Elizabeth Keene (1701-1759), their son (below)
  4. John Lee (1720-1787) married Margaret Howard (1726-1755), their son (below)
  5. Col. Greenberry Lee (1750-1784) married Elizabeth Few (1752- ?), their son (below)
  6. John Lee (1775-1825) married Suzanna Edmonds Short (1771- 1844), their daughter (below)
  7. Martha Hanna (Anna?) Lee (1819-1875) married William H. Nix (1815-1875), their son (below)
  8. Thomas (Lon) Leonidas Nix (1849-1924) married Vilona Ara Hart (1859-1937), their daughter (below)
  9. Effie Bertie Nix (1882-1961) married Thomas John Archibald Jr. (1873-1949), their son (below)
  10. Thomas Ernest Archibald (1932-2010) married Bernice Catherine Collingwood, their daughter & son (below)
  11. Cathy Jo Archibald (1954- ) and Thomas Earl Archibald (1962- ) writers of this blog (and siblings).
  12. You can use this list to figure out your relationship to the Lee family. 

Richard Lee
DOB: 22 Mar 1613 in Nordley Regis, Coton, Shropshire, England Christened: 22 Mar 1618
DOD: 24 pr 1664 in Cobbs Hall, Northumberland, Virginia
Buried: Jan 1665 in Old Lee Graveyard at Cobbs Hall, Northumberland County, Virginia
           
The Lee family played a big part of the founding of the new country in North America, the United States of America. Their history started 200 years before our country became an independent nation. The Lee family produced a number of Revolutionary and Civil War generals and officers, politicians, and statesmen. Colonel Richard Lee, Secretary of the Colony of Virginia and presumably a Counselor to King Charles, was the progenitor of the Virginia Lees and was himself descended from the Coton branch of the Lees of Shropshire. Other notable descendants were Richard Henry Lee and Francis ‘Lightfoot’ Lee, both signers of the Declaration of Independence and Zachary Taylor (12th president of the United States), Light Horse Harry Lee of Revolutionary War fame and governor of Virginia, and his son General Robert Edward Lee of the Confederate States of America. Down through the years there have been many doctors, lawyers, Judges and ministers, and other substantial men and women. (!) And, WE, my dear cousins, are a part of this illustrious family.
 ***
Richard Lee was the first of this Lee family to settle in Virginia in 1640.  His education was most likely in law, for although he went to Virginia to become Clerk of the Quarter Court, in just three years he was appointed Attorney General of Virginia.

The first Royal Governor of Virginia (appointed by the King of England) was Sir Francis Wyatt. It was during Wyatt's second term in America that he brought from England, with his family, a young lady named Anne Constable.

    The fact that Anne was sent as a ward of the King to the America's with such prominence shows her family was of uncommon origins. It is believed that it is because of Anne's family connections that Richard Lee climbed the political ladder so rapidly.

    Perhaps because of her father's connections, Anne became a ward of Sir John Thoroughgood, a personal attendant upon King Charles I. This affiliation would have made it easy for her to know the family of Sir Francis Wyatt and to accompany them to North America. She sailed to America on the same ship as her husband to be. They were married in 1641 at Jamestown, Virginia. Anne's background and early associations meant that Richard Lee moved socially upward when she took him as husband. 

Richard and Anne may have become interested in one another during their long voyage from England to Virginia, and they were definitely exposed to one another in the society of Jamestown. In 1641 when they married, Governor Wyatt gave the bride away, presumably in the new brick church at Jamestown.

timeline
 
1646- Richard Lee served as Sheriff of York County, Virginia
1647- Richard Lee served as Burgess of York County, Virginia
1649-Richard Lee succeeded Richard Kemp as Secretary of State becoming the principle lieutenant of Sir William Berkley. At this time he was granted the title of Colonel.

    It was about this time that Col. Richard Lee was sent to perform an official duty, meeting with King Charles II, whom he met at Breda in the Netherlands. During this trip Richard Lee personally freighted a Dutch Ship and brought back cargo to Virginia. His cargo included immigrants, of which 38 people were unable to pay their passage. They became his indentured servants for a number of years, and he sold his rights to their "indentureship", and used this money to buy three land grants in 1651, for 500 acres adjoining War Captain's Neck and 500 acres on Poropotank Creek in Northumberland County, Virginia. [See Land Patent Book #2, pp. 314-338, and Book #4. pp. 221, 375.]

1650-Richard Lee had 2400 acres in the new County of Gloucester. I

1652-Richard Lee was the owner of a ship, trading between England and Virginia. 

1653-he patented 300 acres on the York River side of Tendall's Neck and another 300 acres on the south side of the Pappahannock at the head of the south branch of Marchepungo. 

1653-He obtained a commercial warehouse; which must have been very convenient for his export/import business.

1661-Richard Lee took out a patent for 4000 acres in November. One tract of 1000 acres was the site of Mount Vernon, and another 2000 acres was on the south shore of Hunting Creek, opposite of the site of Alexandria.[Did you notice that our ancestor owned Mt. Vernon before it became the home of George Washington??]
1664-Col. Richard Lee died at the height of his career, at the age of 51.

1665- In January. His will was probated in London. The executors to his will were Thomas Griffith, John Lockey, both London merchants, and his sons, John Lee and Richard Lee II.


Anne Constable Owen:
Christened: 21 Feb 1622 in London, London, England

(She remarried after Richard Lee’s death in 1664 to Edmund Lister).

Children of Richard and Anne (Constable) Lee

1) John Lee
DOB: 1643 in Stratford Hall, Lee, Virginia, American continent.
DOD: 22 Mar 1673 (age 31) in Surry, Surry, Virginia, United States

John was 22 years old when his father died in 1664. He inherited the Machodoc plantation of 2000 acres, with ten English servants, and ten Negroes and three islands in Chesapeake Bay.  As heir-at-law he also inherited 4700 additional acres. 

John Lee served as Militia Captain, Justice, Sheriff, and Burgess for Westmoreland County, Virginia.

He never married and died at the age of 31 years.

2) Richard Lee
DOB: 1646 at Paradise (the plantation) in Gloucester county, Virginia
DOD: 12 Mar 1714 at Mt. Pleasant in Westmoreland County, Virginia

Richard Lee was eighteen when his father died 1664; he inherited Paradise plantation of 1350 acres.  After his graduation from Oxford he went there to live, but at his brother, John Lee's death, he inherited John's lands, and moved to his plantation called Machodoc.

He married Letitia Corbin, the daughter of his neighbor, the Councilor, Henry Corbin at Machodoc. Both Richard and Letitia are buried at the Burnt House Cemetery near Hague in Westmoreland County, Virginia.

Their four sons-Richard, Philip, Thomas, and Henry- became the progenitors of the Mount Pleasant, Maryland, Stratford, and Lee Hall branches of the family. Their only daughter, Ann, married William Fitzhugh.


Some of the important men in history and how they are related to us:  

 Our direct ancestor's brother, Richard had a son, Thomas (see above) who was the father of  Richard Henry Lee,who on 7 Jun 1776, rose in the Continental Congress and moved: 

“That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great England is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”
***
   Another son, Henry Lee married Mary Bland, the daughter of Richard Bland; and their youngest son Henry, legend has it, won the hand of the “Lowland Beauty”, Lucy Grimes away from her cousin and his friend, George Washington. They remained close friends throughout their lives. The descendants of Henry and Lucy Lee are known as the Leesylvania Line of the family. (we are not a part of this line).
***
   Henry Lee, the son of Henry and Lucy Lee, earned the nickname Light Horse Harry during the Revolutionary War, and this Harry Lee is the father of Robert E. Lee.

DOB: 1648
DOD: 1714 in England
Buried: 19 Nov 1714

He was sixteen in 1664 when his father died. He inherited the 750 acre plantation on York River. He became a London merchant.

He married Laetitia Corbin in 1674, in Westmoreland, Virginia.
(She was the daughter of Henry Corbin and Alice Eltonhead).
DOB: 1657 in Stratfordshire, England
Christened: 1657 in Christ Church, Middlesex, Virginia
DOD: 6 Oct 1706 in Mt. Pleasant, Westmoreland County, Virginia.
Buried: Aft 6 Oct 1706 in "Burnt House Field", Mt. Pleasant, Westmoreland, Virginia.

4) Capt. William C. Lee

William Lee was fourteen years of age when his father died in 1664;
He received 500 acres the Bishop's Neck tract, and the purchased land in Maryland.

He married Mary Waddy; Abt 1691
5) Twin to William – unknown name- drowned at a young age

DOB: 1652 in Dividing Creeks, Northumberland, Virginia
DOD: 25 May 1709 in Ditchley, Northumberland County, Virginia.

Hancock Lee was twelve when his father died. He inherited 800 acres, which became the "Ditchley" estate. 

7) Elizabeth (Betsy) Lee (twin)
 (who later married Leonard Howison)
DOB: 1654
DOD: 1714

8) Ann Lee (twin)
(who became the wife of Thomas Youell)
DOB: 1654
DOD: 1701

****************************************************************************

     Upon the death of Richard Lee, the immigrant, The Stratford estate in Essex County, England was sold and the proceeds were divided between the two daughters, Betsy Lee, and Ann Lee who were eleven when their father died in 1664.

     The youngest five children lived with their mother, Anne (Constable) Lee, who was left their home on Dividing Creek with all of its lands, also five negroes "during her widowhood and no longer", by her husband's will.  (He knew that she would soon remarry).


9) Charles Lee - Our DIRECT LINE

DOB: 21 May, 1656 in Cobbs Hall at Dividing Creek, Northumberland County, Virginia
Christening: 1657 Stratford, Langston, England
DOD: 17 Dec 170l in Cobbs Hall, Northumberland County, Virginia Colony
Burial: 1701 Old Lee Graveyard At, Cobbs Hall, Northumberland County, Virginia

Charles was the youngest child. He was eight in 1664 when his father died. He inherited the old homestead of 600 acres, which became the "Cobb's Hall" estate. He was a Captain in the Colonial Militia, Northumberland County, Virginia;  and Justice from 1687 to 1699.  

[To see how we are descended from Charles Lee, look at the descendancy list at the beginning of this article].


 Cobb's Hall


    I hope that you are getting a sense of our ancestry, and what a wonderful family lineage we share. We come from some of the very people who made our country a free nation. We can be proud of our forebears and be thankful that not only are we here, but we are living in the land of the free which they helped to create. 
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Thursday, July 21, 2011

Effie Bertie Nix (Archibald) (1882-1961)


Effie Bertie Nix (Archibald)
By Cathy Jo Archibald Gillice

Effie was my great-grandmother, the mother of my grandfather, Dan Archibald. I remember, as a preschooler, watching her from her bedroom doorway, as she let her hair down. She usually wore it up on her head but it was very long, which surprised me.

The whole family would go to her house on Sunday, after church services at the Church of Christ, for fried chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy. One Sunday one of the uncles fell asleep on the couch. I can remember my total fascination with the volume of his snoring!

 The cousins visiting great-grandmother Effie.
Kurt Rowley, Cathy Archibald, Teri & Sandy Ervin

To this day when I smell honeysuckle, I envision her front porch. I love that smell. I have many pictures of her taken during my baby and toddler years, but very few of her before that time. (If you have any of her that you want to share I would love to see them).

My brother Tom has the large portraits, in their original old frames, of Effie and Thomas Archibald taken on their wedding day. They are hanging on his wall in Minnesota. They hung in our house when my dad and mom lived in Oregon. Tom got them after dad died.

 Thomas John Archibald Jr & Effie Bertie Nix
wedding photo's
The story in a nutshell is this: Grandma Effie married Thomas John Archibald Jr. in a double wedding in the Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory, Oklahoma, with her sister Nora and her sister's groom Archie Walters. This is the same Archie with whom Tom had a vaudeville act at one time. It is interesting that an Archibald (last name), [often shortened to Archie] was best friends with an Archie (first name). [Note: All of the Archibald’s seem to have been called Archie at sometime in their lives. (I was ‘Archi’ for years before I got married. My friend Laurie Carr Love still calls me Archi)].

I also remember Aunt Nora, Effie’s sister. I was probably about 2 or 3 years old when we went to visit her (possibly even the day the picture below was taken). I sat on her lap and I was so scared that I sat perfectly still for what seemed like hours to me, but it was probably no more than 5 minutes. She was very nice, but to me, a toddler, I thought she was an old, scary stranger. Isn’t it funny the way a kid thinks? I wish I had known enough then to ask great-grandma and her sister questions about their lives...but I didn't even know anything about my own life yet.

Cathy Archibald with Grandmother Effie,
and her sister Aunt Nora Walters

Effie and her husband Tom Archibald lived in El Centro, California and then Huntington Beach, Orange, California with their three children, Dan, Curt and Elsie. Although all of them are gone now, I can still see them through the fuzzy memories of a child. I always had trouble remembering which aunt and uncle was which. I confused my Uncle Curt with Aunt Elsie's husband Fred and Aunt Elsie with Uncle Curt's wife Madge. But I clearly remember that there was a fruit tree growing in Aunt Elsie’s (or was it Aunt Madge's) backyard that had both oranges and lemons growing on it! Oh the joys of Southern California.

Effie comes from a family line that goes back to the original Lee family [through her paternal grandmother, Martha (Hanna or Anna) Lee (1820-1875) who married William Nix (1819-1875)]. William Nix was a Campbellite Preacher.

At a later time I will reveal information about the Lees. This is the Lee family that produced 'Light horse' Harry Lee and Gen. Robert E. Lee. Effie also had several ancestors’ [the Few's, and Short's] that fought in the Revolutionary War.

Our ancestor, John Nix, born 22 Feb 1611, immigrated to America during the 1600's from England. That's 400 years in America!  There is a lot of history there, waiting to be revealed. I will cover it in due time.

Effie Bertie Nix’s parents:

Thomas Leonidas (Lon) Nix (father)

DOB: 30 Jan 1849 in Nashville, Davidson, Tennessee
  • Interesting note: My brother and I each have lived in Nashville in the past, not realizing that we had ancestors from there.
  • Lon was one of nine children.
DOD: 22 May 1924 in Upland, California from cancer of the stomach at age 75.

Profession: He raised cattle and wheat in both Oklahoma and Texas.

 Vilona Ara Hart (mother)

DOB: 18 Oct 1859 in Weiland, Texas

DOD: 4 May 1937 in Upland, California from heart failure at age 80.

Personality: 
Quite, but if the occasion came up she could be quite fiery. She was religious and strict. She stood 5' tall and she liked to dip snuff.

They married on 4 Jan 1880 in (the exact town unknown at this time) Hunt county, Texas and lived in Weiland, Hunt, Texas and then Lone Oak, Hunt, Texas from 1880-1886. Then they lived in Navajo, Jackson, Oklahoma near Navajo Mountain. From 1898 through 1903 they lived at McAlester, Pittsburg, Oklahoma. This is where Tom's family (Effie's husband) also lived (see my article on Thomas John Archibald Sr.) Sometime in 1919 they moved to California, because of the “dust bowl” conditions in Oklahoma.


The Nixes had 11 children and when Lon's eldest sister, Frances Calfernia (Fernie) Nix Anderson died, in 1885 they took in her two children to live with them. Jeff Anderson was 17 and his sister, Willie Anderson was 7.

Children of Lon and Vilona;  (besides the two Anderson children that were adopted).

1) Nora Lee Nix (married Archie Walters on 2 Jun 1901-double wedding with Effie)

DOB: 7 Oct 1880

DOD:  16 Aug, 1976

Cause of death: Heart failure at age 96

2) Effie Bertie Nix (Married Thomas John Archibald Jr.
2 Jun 1901)

DOB: 17 Jan 1882

DOD: 16 Dec 1961

Cause of death: heart failure age 78

Personality: Quiet, good cook, pleasant in manner, attractive and very religious (Church of Christ).

3) Ethel Elsie Nix (married Jess McCoy)

DOB: 19 Aug 1883

DOD: 11 Jan 1961

Cause of death: Malnutrition in pregnancy

Personality: very pretty, musically inclined, creative.

4) Beulah Mae Nix (married Fred Volkart)

DOB: 23 Feb 1885

DOD: 9 Feb 1978

Cause of death: phlebitis age 93

5) William Story Nix (married Callie Day)

DOB: 29 Dec 1886

DOD: 9 Apr 1963

Cause of death: stroke age 77

Personality: talked very fast, laughed a lot, pleasant

Occupation: Farmer

6) Thomas Leonidas (Lee) Nix (married Josie Routt)

 DOB: 15 Feb 1889

DOD: 30 Apr 1981

Personality: “Nomad” (itchy feet), pleasant.

7) Clarence Sylvester Nix (never married)

DOB: 14 Nov 1894                                        

DOD: 1984

Personality: bachelor, quiet, smiled easily, very nice.

Occupation: Farmer

8) Grace Bertha Nix (married Covert Routt)

DOB: 14 Nov 1892

DOD: Oct 1934

Cause of death: died in a house fire in Portereville

Personality: nice personality, appreciated fine things.

9) Ocie Margarite (married Cecil "Pat" Patterson)
DOB: 16 Jan 1899

DOD: Dec 1984

Persoanlity: Neat and attractive, very concerned about her looks.

10) Durwood Waldo Nix

DOB:  21 Oct 1903

DOD:  2 Dec 1905 in Elgin, Oklahoma, USA

Cause of death: Lockjaw, age 2

11) Jaleska "Jake" Nix

Elsie & Dan Archibld (Effie's children) with her sister Jake Nix (the tall one)
DOB: 28 Dec 1905

DOD: 28 Aug 1927 in Upland, California, USA

Cause of death: enlarged heart

Personality: Quiet, timid, and pretty


Marriage Information:

Effie and Tom Archibald
with Tommy and Betty Archibald
(grandchildren) in about 1934

Effie and Tom met in McAlester, Pittsburg, Oklahoma where they both lived with their parents (per the 1900 US Census records). Effie Bertie Nix married Thomas John Archibald Jr. in a double wedding with Nora Nix and Archie Walters, on 2 Jun 1901 and their children were born in Oklahoma. The family story is that Tom & Effie moved to California because of the “dust bowl” effects in 1919, to El Centro, California. In 1922 they moved to Huntington Beach,CA . In the World War I draft registration records it says that Tom was a traveling salesman. Tom worked in the oil fields in S. CA. He died 25 Mar 1949 in California.

Children of Tom and Effie  (Nix) Archibald:


1) Daniel Leonidas (he later shortened it to Leon) Archibald
 Daniel Archibald

DOB: 16 Sep 1902 in McAlester, Pittsburg, Oklahoma, USA

DOD: 20 Feb 1992 in Springfield, Lane, Oregon, USA

Dan married:
1) Nancy Kathleen Miller-Darrow 14 Nov 1926 (double wedding with his sister Elsie and Fred Rowley)
2) Ruth Ingersoll 10 Feb 1937

 Ruth and Dan Archibald

3) Ethel Florence Tolman (Collingwood, Banker, Smith) 10 Dec 1975. (Ethel was also the mother of Dan's daughter-in-law Bernice, married to Thomas).

Dan's Personality:
He could be gruff at times, usually quiet, always whistled and wore a baseball cap, and he loved to read. He became hard of hearing in later years.

Occupation: He owned a service (gas) station at one time and always worked on cars.

Physical description: balding, resembled all the Archibald men (since Thomas John Archibald Sr). He had crossed eyes all through his childhood until he was old enough to pay for his own surgery.

Dan Archibald

Children of Dan and Kathleen:
  1. Betty Jean Archibald
  2. Thomas Ernest Archibald
Children of Dan and Ruth:
  1. Daniel Leon Archibald
  2. Ronald George Archibald

2) Thomas Curtis Archibald (was called Curt)

(Dan and Curt in photo on left)

DOB: 5 Feb 1904 in McAlester, Pittsburg, Oklahoma, USA
DOD: 26 Jan 1991 in Norwalk, Los Angeles, California, USA (age 86)

Occupation: Mortician, owned Norwalk Mortuary for years in Norwalk, California

Physical description: balding, resembled all the Archibald men (since Thomas John Archibald Sr.)

Married:
Doris Lihou
Madge Dennis 9 Jan 1950
Children: no biological, at least one step-child Mel Dennis.

3) Elsie Margaret Archibald (
     see her picture above with Dan & Jake Nix)


Married: (double wedding with brother Dan and Kathleen on 14 Nov 1926  )

Fred W. Rowley
DOB: 14 Nov 1908 
DOD: 

Children of Elsie and Fred Rowley:

1.      Robert (Bob) H. Rowley married______________?
DOB: abt 1927

Had two sons:
·        Kurt Rowley
·         Kenny Rowley

2.      William (Bill) Rowley (never married, he did have a longtime partner in Hawaii, where he lived most of his adult life).
DOB: abt 1929
DOD:

Sources:

  1. Nix Family History (private papers) written by Nora Lee Nix Walters and Elsie M. Archibald Rowley. Reference used: Goodspeed History Genealogy. (Copy in possession of Cathy Jo Archibald Gillice)
  2. http://trees.ancestry.comestory.com
  3. https://www.familysearch.org/search
I still have gaps in the facts regarding of some of these relatives information, if you have any information or interesting stories about any of them please contact me via email or FB.